![]() ![]() “There’s eight of us sitting round a table like a big Italian family, beating up scripts or our desire to see a picture, whether it’s worthy, whether we all feel it or not,” Segal says. That also means running Elevation like a family, not a corporation, and empowering younger employees to ensure that films the company acquires pass a creative litmus test. “We are wider, because we can’t do 10 small independent films a year and hope that one of them pops,” May explains.Įverything Everywhere All at Once Allyson Riggs / A24 / Courtesy Everett Collection That means more mainstream releases in Canada for titles like this year’s best picture Oscar winner Everything Everywhere All at Once and the upcoming My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3 and PAW Patrol: The Mighty Movie, a big-screen adaptation of the popular kids TV franchise. ![]() Of course, given the size of the Canadian market, Elevation has had to cast its net far wider for content with more commercial potential. Other multiplex hits followed, including gems in the rough like Room (2015) and Moonlight (2016), indies that won audience awards at the Toronto Film Festival before going on to Oscar glory. So that requires you to get big films that are independent films - like Teddy’s Imitation Game - and are well released and big in scope,” Segal says about Elevation’s consistent U.S. “You want to be blockbuster within the independent space. And you’ll be more profitable,’ ” Segal says.Īs an indie distributor, Elevation competes in the shadow of Hollywood studios dominating the local multiplex with star-driven tentpoles by embracing indie filmmakers in Canada and international art house titles. ![]() “We took the gamble with Teddy’s support to say, ‘No, we believe if you focus on the pictures, the pictures will perform better. ![]() The Imitation Game Jack English/Weinstein Co./Courtesy Everett CollectionĮlevation’s success in a Canadian market that represents one-tenth of the North American box office comes from a focus on nurturing every theatrical release, rather than relying on volume. One of the indie’s first releases was the Schwarzman-produced The Imitation Game (2014), which brought in $10 million at the Canadian box office and earned an Oscar from eight nominations. “I felt like we could create Elevation and make a significant and meaningful contribution to the Canadian distribution landscape,” Schwarzman tells THR. The objective: introduce a local mini-major that would specialize in commercial indies and auteur-driven titles, too. It was Black Bear topper Teddy Schwarzman who put up Elevation’s early financing after a pitch from May and Segal, setting the groundwork for Elevation to compete against bigger players in the Canadian distribution scene, including Toronto-based juggernaut Entertainment One.įor Schwarzman, investing in upstart Elevation allowed his U.S.-based company to fill a Canadian market gap after Alliance was acquired in 2012 by eOne and brought under its umbrella. “The people involved in this company, myself and Noah and Adrian Love and Jeremy Smith, everyone here has many years of experience in the industry and really wanted to build a company that was passionate about Canadian films and films that cross borders and elevate content,” says May.Īs a result, Elevation has steadily risen to the top in Canada by combining its indie cred (and an expanding TV production arm) with deep pockets from major investor Black Bear Pictures. As veterans of earlier players like Lionsgate’s Canadian arm and Alliance Films, the duo knew they had enough hands-on experience - and connections - in distribution to venture out on their own. May and Segal were hardly new to the indie business when Elevation launched. 'Dark' Star Oliver Masucci on Blowing Up German Cold War History with 'Herrhausen - The Banker and The Bomb' ![]()
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